Eddie
by J. Snijders
Summary: Angel's upstairs neighbour is killed. Or is he? The investigation will eventually force Angel to fight his biggest enemy. Angelus.
1. LA, nighttime

_My first Angel fanfic. I've been an admirer of Joss Whedon's work and I love the characters on the Angel show. This story is set in the last part of the first season, right after the events in the episode 'war zone'. Please R&R, let me know what you think. And bow down in praise of Joss Whedon. The man is a genius, really. _

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**Eddie – an Angel by my side**

_He wasn't much to look at. He had a sharp nose, small, grey eyes, and a declining hairline. His hands were too big for his body, and his sense of style in clothes was practically non-existent. Nope, Eddie wouldn't win any beauty contests any time soon, at least, not in this dimension. He didn't stand out in a crowd, one way or the other._

_But Eddie was a good person. He tried to live his life the best way he could, and although he didn't have many friends, he was the likeable sort of guy. People would say he had a good heart, and in LA, that was saying something. He didn't deserve to die the way he did._

Angel stood over the body of his upstairs neighbour and unconsciously shook his head. What did this guy ever do to anyone, he wondered. Eddie had been stabbed in the back, the knife severed a part of his spine, and perforated the lungs, judging from the blood that had spat out of Eddie's mouth, onto the street. After centuries of maiming and killing, I'm practically a forensic expert, he thought sarcastically. It was a sad sight. Somehow, the sight of him laying on the ground, his face locked in a surprised expression, filled Angel with a deep regret. He had come here because of one of Cordelia's visions, but he had been too late. Eddie was long dead.

The sound of approaching sirens broke the silence, and Angel climbed up the building adjacent to the crime scene. From the rooftop he watched the police officers finding the body, the ambulance arriving too little, too late, and the homicide detectives coming to take over the investigation. This is one of those cases they'll never solve, he thought. You can't expect a LA cop to wrap his head around the concept of V'Harri demons. The crime was normal enough, just your average street stabbing. But the offender, that was a whole different story. Angel had dealt with those demons before, and the knife which killed Eddie, Angel knew wasn't really a knife. It was the demon's left hand, of which the index finger was ten inches longer than the rest, and pretty sharp. But V'Harri demons usually ate their prey, and Eddie wasn't eaten at all. So why was he killed? And what was he doing in this part of town in the middle of the night anyway?

Angel decided to go back to his office, and put Wesley and Cordelia to work. Maybe Wesley would get something meaningful out of one his books. There had to be an explanation as to why Eddie wasn't eaten, and Angel felt that this explanation would be the key to this mystery. He jumped off at the other side of the building, making sure no one saw him fall five storeys down to the streets before landing on his two feet and walking away. Being a vampire definitely had it's perks. You know – aside from the vicious beast, always lurking under the surface. Angel had a soul, and with it came a conscience. But he never forgot what he really was, and what he was capable of. Other people have nightmares of monsters, I have nightmares of becoming one, he brooded.

He crossed the street, into an alley. He preferred the alleys to the open streets, something a therapist would probably have a lot to say about, as Cordelia once stated. Angel couldn't help but grin at the thought of Cordelia. For all her flaws, he knew she meant well, and her candidness was refreshing to him. Where other people would say nothing or remain polite, she never seemed to hesitate speaking her mind. She made things seem simpler, less complex. She was nothing like Wesley, who had a knack for complicating even the easiest of problems. But he shared Angels desire to do some good, and over the last couple of months, Angel had become very fond of him. My team, he thought. I may be the warrior, the champion according to some, but Wes and Cordy were the real heroes. They didn't _have_ to do this, they didn't do this out of a century of guilt. They did it because it was the right thing to do. And then there was Charles Gunn. Angel didn't know him that well, but he understood him. Gunn was a warrior, like Angel. He led a vampire hunting gang, and taught himself to fight. For an ordinary human, he did quite well. There aren't too many humans who would be a match for a vampire. But Gunn held his own. Angel hoped to have a chance of working more with Gunn, who was not quite there yet in trusting a vampire with a soul. Angel couldn't really blame him. Gunn had just been forced to kill his own sister, who was turned into a vampire. You can't do that and walk away from it without scars. But the first foundations of trust were there, and Angel intended to build on that foundation any chance he got.

Angel found himself in front of the building which housed his office, while he was distracted by his thoughts, his instincts led him back home. "Home", funny, he didn't remember thinking of his apartment as home before. This city really grows on me, he concluded. He opened the door to the gallery and walked towards his front door. It said "Angel investigations" on the glass. It had kind of a ring to it, when Cordy thought it up. Now, it seemed almost pretentious. But then again, he thought, that's me. I am a vampire who calls himself Angel. I've never seen proof of actual angels or of a god for that matter, but if they do exist, I hope they can appreciate the irony.

Angel opened the door and walked in, to find Cordelia behind her desk.

"I was too late, Eddie was already dead. I'm sorry." Angel offered.

"Well, if Eddie's dead," Cordelia answered confusedly, "then who is this guy sitting in your office?"

Angel raised his eyebrows and stared at Cordelia. "There's a guy in my office?"

"Not _a_ guy, it's Eddie!" Cordelia said impatiently. "He came in a few minutes ago."

Now Angel was confused. He _saw_ Eddie, and between the spine severing and the blood flowing out of his mouth, Angel was pretty sure Eddie couldn't have walked away from it. So the next question would be…

"Who or what the hell is that in my office?"

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_That's all for now, more to come within a week I hope. Thanks for reading and showing an interest!_


	2. Who are you?

_Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Now, moving right along…_

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"I'm to sorry to have kept you waiting, Eddie. Now, how can I help you?"

Eddie stared across the desk and said: "uhm, sorry kid, but I didn't come here for you. I need to see Angel."

"I am Angel."

"No you're not. You're that English fellow, yeah, I've seen you around here a couple of times." Eddie looked confused. "Why would you go around calling yourself Angel? I hate to tell you kid, but you really can't pull that off."

"Well, yes, uhm, that's besides the point." Wesley answered insecurely. "I'm sorry, thought I'd try something. Would you like some coffee, while waiting for Angel?"

"Coffee would be great. Sorry if I hurt your feelings, kid."

"It's nothing, really," Wesley said politely. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

Wesley walked out of the office and while pouring the coffee, he said: "Well, I think it's safe to assume he at least knows who you are, Angel."

"Oh, I wouldn't know that Wesley," Cordelia joked. "You don't exactly send out that 'I'm a cool vampire vibe', you know?"

"You think I'm cool?" Angel asked vainly.

"Yeah, well, in a dark and mysterious sort of way, which is a little bit Batmanny, but sure, a bit. Sometimes. So…Hey!" Cordelia was happy to be able to change the subject. "What are we going to do about, you know, that man slash whatever in your office?"

"I guess," Angel replied, "We can only assume at the moment that that man is really Eddie, and work from there."

"Great idea boss!" Wesley said enthusiastically.

"Oh, please," Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Could you climb _more_ up his butt?"

Wesley retorted: "At least I don't call him Batman, you on the other…"

Angel decided to leave the children bickering, and stepped into his office. There he was, the man Angel saw dead not thirty minutes ago. Same sharp nose, same freakishly big hands, same eyes, but now they were wide open in a fearful expression. Angel sat down behind his desk.

"Hi Eddie."

"Hiyah, Angel. Thanks for seeing me." Eddie shifted nervously in his chair. "I gotta tell you Angel, that staff of yours is well… a little weird. That young lady was giving me fashion advise, and that English kid was trying to impersonate you. Badly, I might add."

"he was trying to determine if you were really Eddie." Angel said pensively.

"Off course I am! Who else would I be?"

Angel leaned forward and looked Eddie right in the eyes.

"You tell me."

Eddie looked confused. "Angel, I really don't…" Angel interrupted him.

"I found you dead, on the street a couple of blocks from here, Eddie. Your spine was severed, you were bleeding from your lungs, and you were dead! Yet somehow, you managed to make your way to my office? You see where I'm having trouble with this?"

Eddie's facial expression changed. He now looked pretty freaked out. He has no idea what I'm talking about, Angel thought. He doesn't know anything about the body on the streets. I could've brought that up a bit more delicately. Oops.

"I- I don't know what to say, Angel, I don't understand it," Eddie said. Angel didn't want to freak the man out even more, so he decided to put this mystery on hold and focus on why Eddie needed to see him.

"It's okay, Eddie. I believe you. Tell me, why did you come to see me?"

Eddie calmed down a bit, and started talking.

"Right, uhm, ya know, I heard that if I had a… weird problem, I should go to you. I heard you specialize in cases involving… uhm, matters of, well, supernatural origin." And than he added: "Especially if it means getting rid of those supernatural matters."

"You heard right," Angel replied. Eddie had stated it mildly to say the least. This sign on the door could just as good have read: 'Exterminations', not 'Investigations'.

"Ah, okay." Eddie relaxed a bit, now he knew he wasn't making a fool out of himself. "I'm being chased by some sort of monster. He has two legs like a man, same height, same build…"

"Demon," Angel specified. "We call creatures like that demons."

"Right. Demon. Anyway, he is really scary looking, with spikes around his forehead, pins on his shoulders and a left index finger that's the size of a large dagger. Just as sharp too."

"A V'Harri demon. I know them." Angel said. "The other… well, you, the one I found dead, was killed by one."

"Oh my god," Eddie murmured. "That demon must have mistaken that guy for me, just like you did." He shouted: "That guy was killed because of me!"

Angel thought the same. He still wondered how two people could look so similar. They were even wearing the same clothes!

"Eddie, this may be a stupid question, but you wouldn't happen to have twin brother, that you forgot to mention, do you?"

Eddie shook his head. "No brothers, one sister. And she passed away some time ago. Died of lung cancer, God bless her." Eddie's looked sad as he recollected the death of his sister.

"What am I going to do Angel? A man was killed because of me. Shouldn't I turn myself in to the police?"

Angel thought about Kate, the detective who recently discovered he was a vampire. There wasn't a lot of trust between them, and she could complicate things.

"For the moment, you better don't do anything, and I'll look into it. We don't know if the V'Harri demon realised it's mistake, he could very well still be hunting you. And if it is, I don't think the police are going to be much help. Why _is _that demon hunting you, anyway?"

"Gambling debts." Eddie admitted. "I know, corny isn't it? I managed to get myself into a debt with a mobster, one I could never possibly repay. You see – I had a real nasty habit, when I lived in Vegas. Like so many others, probably."

"you definitely made a deal with the wrong persons, a V'Harri demon is not something to be messed with." Angel agreed.

"So, can you help me?" Eddie asked. Angel nodded. "What are you going to do, then?"  
Angel shrugged.

"Probably mess with him a little," he said.

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_I know, lot's of exposure, no action… But that's about to change! More to come!_


End file.
